RIP Don Zimmer

NYT - Don Zimmer, the stubby, Popeye-muscled baseball lifer with the unforgettable jowls whose passion for the game endured through more than 60 years as a player, manager, coach and adviser, died Wednesday in Florida. He was 83.

His death was announced by the Tampa Bay Rays, a team he served recently as a senior adviser.  Zimmer had surgery April 16 to repair a leaky heart valve, according to The Tampa Tribune.

This is shitty news no matter how you feel about the Yankees, or any other team that Don Zimmer had a connection with. As a Yankee fan in his 20’s, Don Zimmer was the man next to Torre through our dynasty and played a key role in making Derek Jeter the man and player he is today. On top of that, he was a fighter who never backed down from anything, whether it be a foul ball to the face or Pedro in his prime. He was a baseball person and everything that is great about this game, and I know this hits every Yankee fan hard.

MLB doesn’t want anyone to watch their videos but this sums up Don Zimmer and everything about old school baseball.

PS: I have no proof that this has nothing to do with what Pedro did to him.